ANSAN
NO SHARING OF BIG 12 TITLE IF HAWKS WIN
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FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2009
ONE LAST TIME IN THE PHOG
PAGE 1B
File photo by Weston White/KANSAN
File photo by Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
Above: Senior guard Brennan Bechard drives toward the basket around a Nebraska defender during the Jayhawks 70-53 victory in Allen Fieldhouse. Left: Senior center Matt Kleinmann slams down a dunk with 11 seconds left in the Nebraska game. Kleinman and Bechard will be honored at Senior Day Saturday.
Kleinmann only player in school history to win five conference championships
Seniors' legacy to be celebrated
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Senior center Matt Kleinmann stands outside of the Kansas locker room at Allen Fieldhouse and says it's all starting to sink in.
How Saturday's 3 p.m. game against Texas will be his last home game with the Jayhawks. How he'll be able to watch himself celebrate for the rest of his life whenever a clip is shown of last year's team rushing the court after winning the national championship. How he's become the only player in Kansas history to win five regular season conference championships.
"I certainly picked the right five years to be here," Kleinmann says. "That's for sure."
Kleinmann has seen 142 Kansas victories since his redshirt season in 2004-2005, compared with only 29 losses. In addition to his five
SENIOR NIGHT
WHO: Kansas vs. Texas
WHEN: Saturday, 3 p.m.
WHERE: Allen Fieldhouse
TV: CBS (Channel 5, 13)
Can't make it? Check Kansan.com for running commentary throughout the game.
It might be hard to realize, but the 6-foot-10 walk on from Overland Park, who has played only 192 minutes in his career, is one of the most winning players to ever attend Kansas. Kansas coach Bill Self couldn't be happier for him.
regular season Big 12 Conference championships, he's won three Big 12 Tournament titles and, of course, a national championship.
"To win five regular season
titles" Self said, "that may never, ever, be done again in anyone's career, obviously because you have redshirt to do it. This will be a big deal for him."
Saturday's game, where Kansas can clinch the outright championship with a victory or tie with a loss, will serve as a chance to celebrate it all. Kleinmann and walk-on senior guard Brennan Beckhard will be honored as part of Senior Day.
Although Kleinmann, who has scored 45 points in his career, and Bechard, who has 18 career points, don't have statistics or accolades to gawk at. Self says they've consistently helped the Jayhawks in practice. Their teammates agree.
Both Kleinmann and Bechard had other opportunities out of
"Those are the guys that really make us good," sophomore center Cole Aldrich said. "Those are the guys that should really get some credit for our successes here."
high school, but didn't want to pass up a chance to play for the school they grew up following. Kleinmann received a scholarship offer from University of the Pacific and recruiting interest from schools such as South Florida, Valpariso and Yale.
Beachard, a Lawrence native, spent a year at Barton County Community College in Great Bend before walking on at Kansas.
"It's just been a ton of fun," Bechard said. "The different guys I've been able to play with — it's just been an amazing experience. I'll leave here with one of the best experiences of my life. I'm glad to be a part of it."
Asked what he will remember the most about the experience, Bechard listed a number of things including hearing the roar of the crowd while running onto the floor. Kleinmann had similar feelings.
"I think I'll remember running
out of the tunnel," Kleinmann said. "I think I'll remember just having that feeling of Saturday morning, light coming through, people just going nuts and we run on the court. I think that's the most exciting moment, consistently, every game."
But Kleinmann doesn't want to get too sentimental. He mentions that Kansas still has the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA tournament ahead.
Their performances in those events, Kleinmann says, are what will determine this team's legacy. As for Kleinmann's legacy, it already decided. Come Saturday he will have five Big 12 regular season championship rings.
"I've got them all fitted for the same finger." Kleinmann said. "I might try to get a Michael Jordan-like picture with all the rings."
— Edited by Liz Schubauer
Jayhawks at risk of being bounced out of tournament
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
On the phone, sophomore forward Nicolele Smith struggles to put Kansas' most recent meltdown — a 69-2 loss to Big 12 bottom-dweller Colorado — into words.
It's mid-February and the Jayhawks are headed for the Denver International Airport.
BY JASON JENKS
jienks@kansan.com
Yet, that night in Boulder, when Kansas faded miserably down the stretch, unable to get stops or take care of the ball, serves in hindsight
"It's frustrating that these games keep slipping away from us," Smith said,
Indeed, the layhawks have suffered disappointing — and sometimes painful — losses this season. But few rival the frustration and sheer sting left in the wake of Kansas' loss at Colorado.
Mudded in their second fourgame losing streak in conference play, the Jayhawks finally reached the breaking point. With an NCAA tournament bid all but gone, and an invitation to the WNIT slip-
"That was just a crisis," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "It was just terrible and it was a horrible feeling."
as the moment Kansas' fortunes began to change.
ping away, Kansas' players looked inward.
"We weren't ready to play and I don't know why," Henrickson said. "We asked them to look in the mirror. We said you can't separate and we asked them to come together."
Sounds easy — in theory, Yet, extended periods of losing expose one of two traits: A team's perseverance and strengths or, often times, a team's crumbling weaknesses.
Built on the principles of tough lockdown defense, and behind the remarkable scoring of junior forward Danielle McCray, Kansas
SEE WOMEN'S ON PAGE 4B
Jerry Wang/KANSAM
Members of the KU women's basketball team huddle with coach Bonnie Henrickson after Wednesday night's 69-45 victory over Baylor University in Allen Fieldhouse.
KICKER
'05 recruits might be best Kansas class ever
One was a point guard from Alaska with a sweet stroke and a chilly
sweet stroke and a chilly demeanor. One was a gangly forward from Chicago with a heart of gold. One was a 6-foot-8 mystery from the Northwest. And one was a member of the first family of Kansas City hoops, a misunderstood soul with superstar potential.
They arrived on campus together in the fall of 2005. Mario Chalmers, Julian Wright, Micah Downs and Brandon Rush. They might just be the most important recruiting class in the history of Kansas basketball. And tomorrow is their Senior Day — well, it would be if they were still here.
Of course, we knew from the start that the recruiting class of '05 would never make it to Senior Day intact. They had too much talent, too much athleticism, too much of the greatness gene. But did we know that on March 6, 2009, the eve of Senior Day, they'd all be gone? Maybe not, but perhaps we should have.
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You could make an argument for the 2001 class too. Aaron Miles, Wayne Simien, Michael Lee and Keith Langford won 110 games, went to three Elite Eights, two Final Fours, and they all graduated. Hard to argue with that.
What about Clyde Lovellette and his classmates? They won a title. Or better yet, how about the class of 1904, which featured a kid named Forrest C. Allen? You could make an argument that Phog Allen was the greatest recruit in Kansas history.
OK, here's the problem. There's no way to decide which Kansas basketball recruiting class was the greatest. First of all, what are the criteria? Wins? NCAA titles? NBA success? Do we factor in grades and intangible things like grit and integrity and loyalty?
What about the class of 1984? They went to two Final Fours, won a title in 1988, helped Larry Brown turn Kansas back into a national power, and of course, had a young man named Danny Manning.
And then we come to the class of 2005. And I'm not sure what to think. The class certainly has a case. They helped Kansas win a title. They helped Bill Self become a Kansas legend in his fifth season. As Lew Perkins likes to say, they brought the swagger back to Kansas. And that's not all they brought. Julian brought joy, Brandon brought highlights, Mario brought The Shot. Maybe they do have a case.
So what's the greatest recruiting class of all time? Is it the 1999 recruiting class that featured Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich? They won a ton of games, and went to two Final Fours. Each was picked in the first round of the NBA Draft, and each has his jersey hanging in Allen Fieldhouse.
So I suppose it's kind of odd to
SEE DODD ON PAGE 4B